Prada Womenswear A/W 18 Show

India Doyle reports on the Prada show

Look after look of loud, futuristic and sporty pieces, rendered in a palette of neons and bright digital floral prints, felt like a high energy call for women to take up space.

Scream if you want to go Prada: I do!

The show took place in the nearly finished new wing at Fondazione Prada. Floor to ceiling windows looked out over fluorescent Prada signs in the empty lot across the street. These included flaming shoes, bananas, and the famous Prada triangle. The stark lot below, the dark, futuristic interior – it all felt like we were in fashionable Gotham city.

The opening look was a thick, nylon, black coloured mac. The model wore a loosely tied, netted black bow in her hair. As an opener, it was deceptively understated for what was to come. ‘This is where we are now,’ Miuccia Prada seemed to say, as she then showed us where she wants to go.

Look after look of loud, futuristic and sporty pieces, rendered in a palette of neons and bright digital floral prints, felt like a high energy call for women to take up space.

Dresses were delivered with cinched waists and plastic floral embellishment. Often tulle veils floated over the top. This created a fun tension between the light surface texture and the stronger floral prints, or block neon shades, of the dress underneath. Pink and green tulle bows worn in models hair throughout ensured the collection kept a sense of femininity, even at its most geometric and sculptural.

Sleeveless gore-tex vests were served in tangerine and aquamarine. These were styled with plastic, feather-like, neon skirts. Meanwhile cropped gingham jackets with three quarter length sleeves were also on offer, worn with patterned knitted jumpers. More classically shaped bouclé coats featured neon pockets and collars. Clashing was key here; rules were broken, and a new visual code put in place.

Prada doesn’t play so much to Instagram in the way her rivals do, yet key accessories and details are sure to fuel the digital appetite over the season to come. Micro glasses were worn with bucket hats. Fluorescent gloves that looked like sports socks snuck up over womens' elbows. Models often walked with two bags on top of each other, inviting a new aspect of accessory layering. Throughout the collection, Prada symbols could be found on everything from coat lapels to shoes, a subtler take on the current logo-mania trend across the industry. ID badges were worn throughout, a nod to owning one’s identity, and a clear statement that Miuccia Prada knows hers.

But really, it was the shoes that did it. On the one hand, there were waterproof riding boots with bright anorak-esque plumes that emerged from the shoe and puffed up the model's leg, on the other, the return of flame-heeled stilettos. The latter were supremely sexy, especially when they aligned with the corresponding neon sign outside. How clever. There were also some compellingly hideous trainer-cum-riding boots. These were made from plastic and featured a velcro strap – the new season croc, perhaps? I couldn’t look away.

To roaring applause, Miuccia Prada walked out to Secret Service’s ‘A Flash in the Pan’. A final reminder that she’s anything but.